CIF Project #810.3: Durham Region MRF Baler Final Report

CIF Project #810.3: Durham Region MRF Baler Final Report

1.0 Introduction and Background Durham Region is the largest geographical jurisdiction in the Greater Toronto Area stretching from Lake Simcoe in the north to Lake Ontario in the south, and from as far west as Pickering to Newtonville in the east. The Region encompasses an area of approximately 2,532 square kilometers and is home to approximately 673,500 residents. Durham Region has operated a Blue Box program for over 25 years, currently servicing approximately 232,000 residential households. In May 2005, the Region issued an RFP to design/build and operate a new Material Recovery Facility (MRF) which was officially opened in December 2007. The Region re-issued an RFP for the operations and maintenance of the MRF in August 2012 and the current contractor, Miller Waste Systems Inc., began operations in November 2012. The Region maintains a highly successful Blue Box recycling program that is currently processing approximately 50,000 tonnes of two-stream curbside collected residential recyclables per year with a residue rate of less than 5%. Originally when the MRF commenced operations in 2007, it was designed to process a suite of materials that did not include PET #1 Thermoform and mixed #3-#7 plastics or many of the new lighter weight and single serve convenience packaging materials that are seen in the Ontario curbside mix today. In 2013, the Region added PET #1 Thermoform and #3-#7 plastics to the blue box stream which created operational challenges. It is well documented that these new materials have an impact on existing processing systems and can add increased costs to a MRF operation. The following table demonstrates the container tonnage percentage change over the 2012 to 2016 processing period: Table #1 As a result, the Region purchased a single ram baler designed to handle the increased plastics volumes and to enable an increase to the throughput of the MRF. This also greatly benefited bale densities and reduced end market trucking.

2.0 Project Description and Objectives In late 2012 to early 2013 the original MRF baler, the Harris Gorilla 200T-6-12/9 model, required continuous maintenance and exceeded its operating effectiveness including limited processing capacity of the inbound container material due to the slower bale cycling times. Eventually, the Harris baler was replaced with a temporary unit which was an American Baler, 8043 model. Durham Region released a Request for Proposal No. 621-2015 requesting the supply, installation and commissioning of a new baler. This also included the supporting infeed conveyor modifications, electrical controls integration, electrical hook up and permits, pre-startup health and safety report, start up training, and performance testing of the baler. Durham received one compliant bid submission and awarded the contract to Industries Machinex Inc. for a heavy duty single ram MLP-235 TP model baler. Please refer to Machinex baler specification brochure in Attachment #1. The total price of the purchase and installation of the baler was $805,070.98 excluding taxes. The following payment schedule was included within the RFP: 30% or $241,521.29 payment upon contract award 30% or $241,521.29 payment upon proof of baler manufacturing complete 25% or $201,267.75 payment for baler start up and training 15% or $120,760.65 final payment upon successful performance and testing To offset the capital cost of this project, the Region applied and received CIF funding of up to $165,360. An additional cost associated to the project that was not covered by the installation was for the removal and reinstallation of sprinkler pipes and heads along the infeed conveyor line. This cost the Region $4,546.04. Delivery timeframe was 11 weeks from point of order and installation timeframe was approximately 3 days. The American baler was removed on the Friday and the new baler was also moved into the MRF on Friday for installation. By Sunday the new baler was operational. Staff training involved two full days of operator training including programming, safety, operations, and preventative maintenance. Durham anticipated that by replacing the existing baler with Machinex s baler, it would achieve the following performance objectives and associated outcomes: Increased bale densities; Increased floor storage space; Better payload for commodity buyers as loads are maximized (decreased trucking);

Increased throughput of material (faster cycle time); Decrease in non-productive bailing time and bale wire savings (less broken bales due to 10 wire banding and doubled at 1 st,3 rd & 5 th position); Remote troubleshooting and control by modem with Machinex; and Easier to clean and access baler components for maintenance (many access doors and unit is off the ground). 3.0 Monitoring Results The Region retained the consulting services of Bob Marshall from Marshall Industrial Inc. to assist with the baler RFP specifications, monitor the installation and performance testing. The following Table #2 demonstrates the required throughput rates of tonnes per hour and bale density of pounds per cubic foot values met and/or exceeded the performance evaluation criteria. The actual throughput rates and bale density values are the average results of the testing: Table #2: Throughput and Bale Density Required and Actual Comparison Material Throughput Rate Required (tonnes/hr) Throughput Rate Actual (tonnes/hr) Bale Density Required (lbs/cubic foot) Residential 50 53 38 39 Mixed Paper OCC 25 30 34 38 Aluminum Cans 15 20 25 26 Steel Cans 25 46 45 55 Mixed Plastics 18 19 25 29 PETE 20 21 28 34 HDPE 20 21 28 33 Polycoat 35 35 35 41 Bale Density Actual (lbs/cubic foot) In addition to the test values, please refer to Attachment #2 for Marshall Industrial Inc. confirmation letter to the Region regarding the baler performance and testing evaluation results. The improvements of bale weights resulted in increased MRF floor storage space and better payload for commodity buyers as loads are maximized, which decreased trucking significantly. The MRF went from under loading buyer s commodity trailers to having to watch to ensure the trailers were not overloaded due to the capability of the newly installed baler. Table #3 depicts the efficiency this baler has brought to the MRF operation:

Table #3: Container Bale Production, Average Load Weight (Tonnes) and Number of Loads Comparison 2015-2016

Attachment #1: Machinex Baler Brochure

Attachment #2: Marshall Industrial Inc. Performance Evaluation Confirmation Letter to the Region

Attachment #3: Project Photos